Method of manufacturing metal wheels.



PATENTED APR. 25, 1905.

C. BORG. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING METAL WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED 110V. 16.1904.

Joel/Z2211" NITED STATES Patented April 25, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHRIS BORC, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,889, dated April25, 1905.

Application filed November 16,1904. Serial No. 232,922.

Be it known that I, Cums Bone, a citizen of the United States, residingat Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful lmprovement in Methods of Uanufactm'ing Metal \Vheels',of which the following is a complete specification.

This invention relates to the manner in which the spokes are secured tothe hub and rim of the wheel; and it consists in stretching thespoke-blanks to permit of shoulders being formed thereon against theadjacent wheel member, the object being to provide an improved andsimple method which will result in a strong and durable wheel.

In the methods heretofore employed in the manufacture of metal wheelsthe spokes have not been stretched, but have been either "scraped up orthe ends of the rims have been united after the securemcnt of the spokesthereto has been effected, or the rims have been sprung or the shouldersformed inside the rim or outside of the hub by the application ofexternal pressure on the outer end of the spoke. I have found that tostretch the spoke when securing it in position adds to its strength andresults in a durable wheel. It a well-understood property of steel thatto subject it to stretching or wire-pulling will favorably affect bothits tenacity and its range of elastic action, so that a stretched spokewill therefore be better able to resist either tensional stress or theshocks to which it will be subjected incident to its use.

The employment of this improved method will result in the production ofa tension-wheel of uniform stress throughout all its parts, and it willenable plain spoke-blanks to be used, the spoke-blanks having had noother previous operation performed upon them than that of simply beingcut to proper length. In addition to this, since the spoke is opereratedupon hot and since its securemcnt is effected in practically a singleoperation, a cheaper grade of steel, such as Bessemer instead ofopen-hearth, or a harder and more rigid high-carbon steel can be used,which would not be possible were a rivet-head formed cold.

This improved method is applicable to the manufacture of all styles ofmetal wheels. lVhen adapted to the manufacture of metal wheels havingtwo-part hubs or hubs divided transversely with staggered spokes set ata slight angle relative to the axis of the hub, the fact that the hubsare made in two parts will permit them to approach each other on thecontraction due to the cooling of the spoke, and thus compensate forsuch shortening. lu wheels of considerable size, such as rake-wheelshaving single hubs, the con traction due to the cooling of the spoke isfound to ordinarily create an excessive tension therein; but thisdifficulty can be met by springing the rim outwardly before securing thewheel member thereto in the manner set forth in Patent No. 77:3,i65,issued to me October 25, 190%.

Any suitable machine may be used for applying this mcthod, and henceonly diagrammatic views of gripping-jaws and headingtools are shown intheir different relations with respect to the wheel members.

A machine of the preferred construction for the application of thisimproved method will form the subject-matter of another application.

Referring to the drawings, Figure lrepresents a section of a hub and afragment of a rim of a wheel with a spoke-blank in place, while thegripping-jaws are in position to grip but have not yet closed on thespoke. Fig. 9. shows a similar view with the gripping-jaws closed on thehub end of the spoke. Fig. 3 shows the gripping- 'jaws and heading-toolon the hub end of the spoke in the position they occupy after theshoulder has been formed outside the hub and a head inside the hub. Fig.i represents the spoke-gripping jaws on the rim end of the spoke afterthey have gripped that end of the spoke and formed a shoulder thereonbeneath the rim, the heading-tool outside the rim having sinmltaneouslyformed a head on the outer end of the spoke, while the gripping-jaws onthe hub end of the spoke are shown as still retaining their grip on thatend of the spoke. Fig. 5 represents a similar view with the two pairs ofjaws in their grlpplng posltlon and the heading-tools in the positionthey occupy before the head has been formed; and Fig. 6 represents acorresponding view in which both pairs of gripping-jaws are shown tohave simultaneously moved toward the adjacent member, thereby upsettinga shoulder outside the hub and within the rim, while the heading-toolshave also simultaneously moved toward each other and formed heads onboth ends of the spoke. Figs. 5 and 6 show modifications of the stepsshown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the modifications consisting in havingboth pairs of grippingjaws operate simultaneously in these figures,while in the preceding figures their movements are shown to besuccessive. Fig. 7 represents a portion of a finished wheel in themanufacture of which this improved method was employed.

In carrying out my invention in the preferred manner a rim 1. eitherclosed or open, is provided, in which are formed at suitable intervalsspoke-receiving apertures, and also a hub 2, in which are formedcorresponding spoke-receiving apertures. The spoke-blank 3 is shownas'being formed of a rod the crosssection of which is circular; but theform of cross-section of the spoke employed is immaterial.

41 4 designate the two opposing spoke-gripping jaws operating on the rimend of the spoke, and 5 5 the jaws operating on the hub end of thespoke. The heading-tool 6 is arranged to form a head on the hub end ofthe spoke within the hub, while the heading-tool 7 similarly operates toform a head on the rim end of the spoke outside the rim.

The spoke 3 being first heated, the ends thereof are inserted within thecorresponding apertures of the rim and hub 1 and 2, respectively, asshown in Fig. 1. One end of the spoke is then secured to its adjacentmember for instance, to the hub 2-by means of the jaws 5 5 gripping thespoke, as shown in Fig. 2, after which the shoulder 8 is formed outsidethe hub and the head 9 inside the hub by the said jaws and heading-toolapproaching each other and upsetting the material of the spoke. Thecompletion of this step is shown in Fig. 3. This step is confessedly notnew, and no claim is made thereto except in combination with the othersteps. A shoulder 10 is then upset immediately beneath the rim, and toprovide the necessary material for such shoulder the spoke is stretchedsimultaneously with the upsetting thereof.

The stretching of the spoke for the purpose of providing stock for theformation of a shoulder or shoulders outside of the hub or inside of therim constitutes the essence of this invention. This step is shown asbeing accomplished by means of the gripping-jaws 4 4, which are formedon their outer ends to give the desired shape to the shoulder. The saidjaws grip the spoke a short distance from the rim, the gripping beingsufficient to prevent longitudinal slippage of the spoke through thejaws. The gripping-jaws are then caused to move toward the rim, in doingwhich the spoke will bestretched and the shoulder 10 formed adjacent tothe rim. The heading-tool 7 is preferably made to move coincidently withthe movement of the gripping-jaws, and thereby form the head 11 outsidethe rim 1. It is also preferable that the gripping-jaws 5 5 retain theirgrip on the hub end of the spoke until after the stretching thereof,since in so doing the strain on the recently-secured spokefastening withthe hub will be relieved and taken up by said jaws. In this mannermaterial for the shoulder on the spoke adjacent to the wheel member towhich it is last secured is provided, and only enough is required toform one shoulder. If, however, it is desired to effect the securementof both ends of the spoke to the adjacent wheel members simultaneously,then a double stretching sufficient to provide material for bothshoulders would result. This modified step is shown in Figs. 5 and 6,where both jaws move outwardly from each other simultaneously. It ispreferred, however, to stretch the spoke only sufficiently to providematerial for one shoulder, as in the first-described manner.

A slight stretching of the spoke has been found to favorably affect itsstrength, and while the spoke is shown to be stretched an amount onlysufficient to form a shoulder on the end of the spoke adjacent to thewheel member I do not limit myself to stretching the spoke preciselythis given amount, for it is apparent that the relative movement of thegripping-jaws and heading-tool longitudinal with respect to the spokecould be so proportioned that the metal would be caused to flow to someextent through the spoke-receiving aperture in the wheel member in adirection inwardly or outwardly, depending upon the relative rapidity ofmovement of the headingtool and the gripping-jaws. If the headingtoolmoved faster than the gripping-jaws, then some of the metal of the spokewould be forced through the spoke-receiving aperture and assist informing the shoulder adjacent to that wheel member, so that the spokewould not need to be stretched sufiicient to form the entire shoulder.On the other hand, if the gripping-jaws moved faster than theheadingtool then some of the material of the spoke lying within thespoke-receiving aperture would be pressed out and aid in forming thehead of the spoke.

As before stated, it is immaterial whether the connection of the ends ofthe spoke with the wheel members he made at its hub or rim end first or,in fact, whether the operations on the two ends are made simultaneouslyor successively.

In upsetting the shoulders on the spoke, as above described, it isobvious that the same portion of the spoke cannot at once be both IIOupset and stretched; furthermore, that the extent of the stretchingmovement corresponds with that of the upsetting movement, the stretchingof the spoke providing material for the upsetting of the shoulder, or,to express the idea more specifically, the stretching of the spokeenables or permits a shoulder or shoulders to be upset thereon.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The method of securing the spokes in metal wheels, which consists inassembling the spokes in the wheels, forming shoulders on the spokes bystretching them and thereby providing the necessary metal for theshoulders, and upsetting the metal so provided to form the shoulders.

2. The method of manufacturing metal wheels, consisting in stretchingthe spoke to provide metal for a shoulder, and simultaneously therewithupsetting the material thereof to form said shoulder against one side ofthe adjacent wheel member, and forming an opposing head on the spoke onthe other side of said wheel member.

3. The method of manufacturing metal wheels, consisting in stretchingthe spoke to provide metal for a shoulder, upsetting the materialthereof to form said shoulder against one side of the adjacent wheelmember, and forming an opposing head on the spoke on the opposite sideof said wheel member, the several steps being performed simultaneously.

4. The method of manufacturing metal wheels, consisting in uniting oneend of the spoke to the adjacent wheel member, securing said spoke endagainst end wise movement by means independent of its connection withsaid member, stretching the spoke an amount sufficient to providematerial fora shoulderon the other end of the spoke, and simultaneouslyupsetting the metal to form said shoulder.

5. The method of forming a shoulder on a spoke, which consists inholding the spoke near one end against longitudinal movement, graspingthe other end, and formingthe shou lder on such end by stretching thespoke and thus upsetting the metal.

CHRIS BORG.

\Vitnesses:

blARGARE'I A. SWEENEY, J. C. \VARNEs.

